Do You Want To Know What Time It Is?

[cbcnc]

Hi All,

Would you like to build a sundail? Or just look at how they work?
I just uploaded an Excel spreadsheet to the ftp forum. It will give you the basic calculations to layout, setup and read a sundail. It's in Unspecified_Upload/Sundail.xls
I will be interested in hearing what you think of it and of course any pictures of what you have made.

Chris

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[hardmill]

Thanks chris,
I'll definetly take a look at it.
PEACE

[cbcnc]

Hi Steve,

I thought it would be cool to have a sundail so I started reading up on it.
I am going to check around some of the surplus wharehouses for the materials because I origionally wanted to make it out of brass until I checked on the price. Gulp!
Now I am thinking some old rusty steel plate for that antique look.

Have fun,
Chris

[Laff Riot]

although it would not be authentic - it would look like it...
might want to try some exterior engraving stock with a brass or copper finish.

the color core is usually black for the metal finishes but it should look attractive. just a thought.

[cbcnc]

Hi,

The thought of using brass was that it would weather well. You know in time it would get that blue green patina to it. I could even speed it up with some chemicals.
I'm pretty sure that laminated foils have a coating on them to prevent corrosion. I don't have any of the stuff so I can't be sure. Might be worth a try. Thanks!

Chris

[Laff Riot]

Try copper leafing then. Very inexpensive and will patina or stay bright depending on how you finish it. You can even buy it pre-patinaed. 5"x5" squares - sheet book of 25 runs about $6 at your local hobby shop.

Copper leaf first - then engrave the face. If you have a dxf or eps layout of the face and want to see what it will look like - email it to me and ill engrave it out and leaf it - should take less than 5 min.

Gl - would love to see a pic when you get it up and running.. er.. standing.

[cbcnc]

Copper leaf - That's a good idea. Is the glue that you use to stick it able to stand up to the weather? Cause this thing is going to be outside rain or shine. Do you think that it would stick to an aluminum base?
Another thought I had was to laminate a .062 skin of brass to an aluminum base with epoxy.
All of this is putting the cart before the horse because I'm trying to finish my machine. I ordered some tubing from "Online Metals" for my linear bearings and that is where I saw that a 12 X 12 X 1/2" piece of brass was around $260.

Chris

[Laff Riot]

Thought I would follow up on this post since I now have a system that should last 20+ years outside .... the chemist says.

Drop me a line if your still looking to copper leaf your dial, I can steer you towards the suppliers I use.

Once and a while I run across pics of other peoples work here, would love to see some tips & techniques for finish pieces.

[cbcnc]

I was able to find some brass on EBay for about 1/4 of the price. Then a buddy of mine told me of a surplus metals place that he went to that had brass for 1.75 per pound. That is comparable to the price I paid on EBay.
That is a nice looking sign. Is the 3D logo CNC cut and gold leafed?

Chris

[BeanO]

Ya I know I probably have a boneheaded idea, but...

Try homeade copper electroplating.

Use a TEST piece of steel, or whatever, as a (+) terminal.
-dunk it in a PLASTIC vat, of water and copper sulfate (special order at drugstore, get 10$ worth )
-hook up a fresh piece of copper wire to the (-) terminal and dunk it into the vat as well.

Run 2 to 5 volts DC ( wild guess ) through it and wait two days.( but check it after a few hours).

Use a small DC transformer for the power. I don't think u will need to replace the copper sulfate, but the terminal will get eaten away (to replace the copper in the solution)

It's been 18 years since I last did this, so maybe you shouldn't even listen to my advice, oh well.


PS. Good Luck on the sundail, they are kinda neat.

[cbcnc]

Thanks BeanO,

I might just try that boneheaded idea.
I looked around a little and I think that you could find Copper Sulfate in feed stores as it is a feed addative.
I have never tried anodising or plating since I am a little concerned about having harsh chemicals around children. But Copper Sulfate doesn't seem that bad.
When you put the piece of steel in the solution do both electrodes need to be in contact with the part or can the negative be just in the solution?

Chris

[NeoMoses]

www.caswellplating.com has some good plating kits.

[BeanO]

Copper Sulfate is poisonous, but you can touch it without any ill effects, just don't eat/drink the stuff.

I will try to send you a picture of the setup, but basically your part IS one of the electrodes, the other copper electrode must not touch your part.

PS...it might take me a while to draw a picture, but there should be some info about it on the internet, if you find a good website,
could you post it? (i'm getting sorta interested again)

Thanks

[cbcnc]

Hi There,

I just looked at the Caswell site. Interesting. Their kits could be good for small runs of parts without alot of bother and setup.
They talk about when you plate steel with copper that you need a nickle plate underneath. How nescessary is that? For my application I would be looking for the copper color and some resistance to the steel rusting. Otherwise I think that a rustic or not perfect finish would look nice. If the steel started rusting underneath or the copper started flaking off I don't think that would do.

Chris

[NeoMoses]

Although I've never used any of their plating kits, just their anodizing supplies, I would listen to their advice. Every little corner I tried to cut with my anodizing kit ended up not working... Their way is one of the cheapest available for home use. Might not be the best solution if you only want to do 1 or 2 parts, but if you want to do 10-20, it'll probably pay for itself.

If you only want 1 or 2 parts finished (plated, anodized, polished, etc...), visit their finishing forum. There's lots of people there that have bought their kits and learned to use them selling their services as small-batch platers. It's kinda nice, rather than the $100-$500 minimum batch costs you'll find at most platers.

[DLMACHINE]

As a side note to your sun dial thread here is a pic of my interpretation of a sun dial.